Knitting machine



Nov. 1, 1938. M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet '1 -NOV. 1, 1938. M NHLLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 1, 1938. M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 25, 1957 Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,134,727 KNITTING momma Max 0. Miller, Cumberland, R. 1., assignor to Knitting Machines Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application March 25, 1937, Serial No. 133,025

I 12 Claims. The present invention relates to improvements in welt mechanisms for knitting machines,

and more particularly to a novel and improved loop transfer hook which is well adapted for use with a full-fashioned hosiery machine.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a loop transfer hook of this general description which is constructed and arranged tocooperatein a new and more efiicient manner with the'spring beard needles and co-operating knitting elements of a full-fashioned hosiery machine for the formation of an alternate needle set-up of the fabric on the needles.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a welt hook which is constructed and arranged for use in a full-fashioned machine to re? move from the shank of each alternate needle the needle wale loops of an initial course to form an alternate needle set-up of the welt, and therei after to return the loops of the needles toclose the welt.

With these and other objects in view, as may hereinafter appear, a principal feature of the invention consists in the provision of a fabric operation with the shank portion of the hook maintained in a position substantially parallel to that of the needle shank, in whichxa recess is for accurately guiding the tip portion of the needle upwardly through a loop held on the hook for the transfer-of the loop back to theneedle.

- The several features of the invention consist also'in the devices,combinations and arrangement of parts which, together with the advantages to be obtained thereby, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the followingde-' scription taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of applicants loop transfer hook; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an alternate form. of applicants hook; Fig. 4 is a view in transfer hook of the general type adapted for front elevation of the lower portion of. thehook shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 15 2, view in right side elevation of the lower portion of the hook, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the hook, asshown in Fig. 5; Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, are fragmentary detail views showing 5 successive positions of applieants loop transfer hook with. relation to the associated needles, sinkers, knockover elements and press edge to engage with and remove from alternate needles the yarn kinked about the .needle shank subse- 1. quent to the sinking of the initial or setting-up course against the needles; Figs. 12 to 15 inclusive, similarly illustrate the operation of applicants loop transfer hook to return the loops to alternate needles to turn the welt; Figs. 16 to 15 20 inclusive, are enlarged fragmentary plans in section showing the positions of the needles, welt hooks and sinkers at certain stages of the setting-up operation, Fig. 16 corresponding substantially to full line position shown in Fig. ,7, Fig. 17 corresponding substantially to the full line position shown in Fig. 8, Fig. 18 corresponding substantially to the full line position shown in Fig.

9, Fig. 19 showing the relative positions of these. parts immediately after the dividers have come in, and Fig. 20 showing the positionsof the parts I substantially as in Fig. 10; and Figs. 21 and 22 are fragmentary plans showing the operation of applicant's modified welt hooks to engage with and remove the kinks of yarn from alternate needles, the positions of the parts shown in these two views corresponding otherwise in every re- -spectwith the positions shown respectively in Figs. 16 and'l'l.

The loop transfer hook illustrated in Figs; 1 i and 2 of the drawings, including also'the modified form of this hook illustrated in Figs. 3 to 6- inclusive, is particularly well adapted for use with the welt mechanism for" a fiat full-fashioned knitting machine, illustrated and described in applicant's co-pending application Serial No.

726,285, filed May 18, 1934, of which this application is a continuation in part.

. As more fully set forth in the application referred to, and as shown in the drawings (Figs. 7 to 15) hereinafter fully to be described, these hooks are of the general type which are constructed and arranged for operation with their shank portions at all times in a substantially vertical position, and with the hook portions g0 thereof facing toward the front of the machine. In order to form a fabric set-up on the machine, the hooks, one being provided for each alternate needle, are introduced vertically between adjacent sinkers, and are manipulated to engage with the kinks of yarn formed against the needle shanks by the operation of the sinkers, and to remove these kinks from the needles over the beard and tip portions thereof to form an alternate'needle set-up between the'hooks and the intermediate needles. For the turning of the welt, the hooks with the initial course of loops held thereon, are again positioned to the beard side of the needles, so that the needles during their subsequent upward movement will enter the loops, and thus to effect the transfer of'the setting-up course back to the needles to turn the welt.

Referring specifically to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the hook element designated at 30. com-. prises a rectangular shank of uniform ,width throughout its length to fit closely between adjacent sinkers, and is provided at its lower end'with two hook-shaped cheeks 32 which are arranged to embrace the needle shank between them, and are provided with pointed tips which are bent inwardly so that they will fit tightly around and to the rear of the needle shank. The bottom end of the implement is drawn out into a point formed by four beveled surfaces which are arranged to facilitate an accurate register of the hook implements with relation to the press edge, and with relation to the adjacent sinkers and knockover bits during the movements of the hooks with relation thereto. At the base of the slot formed between the two cheek members 32, there is provided a sloping cam surface 34 which extends from the pointed bottom extremity of the implement to the middle of the throat formed by the junction of the cheeks 32 with the shank of the implement. The cam surface 34 forms the base of the recess or slot between the cheeks 32, and thus limits the relative movement of the needle toward the shank portion of the hook 30, so that during the welt turning operation, the needles will be guided upwardly through the loops held on the cheeks 32 to elfe'ctthe transfer of the initial course back to the needles. There is also provided along the rear side of the shank portion of the hook, a V- shaped ridge 36 formed by two beveled surfaces 38 and 40 which extend downwardly to the bottom extremity of the implement.

, The several featurespf applicant's hook will be more fully understood'from the following description of operation of the hooks to set up and to turn the welt, taken in connection with the illustrative Figs. 7 to 22 inclusive. After the needles 44 have been brought to their yarn sinking position and the sinkers 46 have been advanced by the operation of the usual slur-cock to sink an initial course of yarn against the needles, and before the dividers 48 have been brought in, the welt hooks "are moved downwardly as shown by the successive dotted Aline positions in Fig. 7, to the full line position in Fig. 7 and Fig. 16, in which the shank portions of the hooks 30 are engaged against the press-edge 50, and the tip portions of the hooks are locatedsomewhat below the yarn rately aligned between these elements for subsesinking level. As previously pointed out, the beveled side surfaces forming the tapered bottom end of the welt hook 30, operate during this downward movement to insure the engagement of the hooks I edge. Inasmuch as the total width of the hook is substantially equal to the spacing between adjacent sinkers and webholders, the hooks are accutransfer operation.

quent engagement with the shanks of the needles. The hooks are now moved forwardly to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8, so that the needle shank is buried in the recess formed between the two hook-shaped cheeks 32, the pointed tip portions of which extend slightly to the rear and inwardly behind the needle shank. I'he hook is then moved upwardly relatively to the needles to the full line position shown in Fig. 8 and in Fig.

17, so that the cheeks enter both legs of the nee- 0 dle kink held on the needle, causing the kink to be spread and to be held clear of the needle shank. At this point, it may be noted in connection with Fig. 1'7, that one leg of this loop is in the form of a bar of yarn stretched between each adjacent I the initial course is now supported between adjacent pairs of sinkers and the hooks 30. At this point in the operation, the dividers 48 are advanced to re-measure the yarn in Fig. 19, and the, needles are again moved inwardly so that the shanks of intermediate needles are firmly engaged therewith.

As the needles now move downwardly to the position shown in Figs. 10 and 20, it will be seen that the initial course is brought within the hooks of intermediate needles, while the beards of alternate needles cooperating with the hooks, pass through the yarn kinks held on the hooks. As the needles now continue their downward movement, the hooks are moved relatively upward over the top of the needles, as shown in Fig. 11, and then forwardly and down to complete the setup on the hooks and intermediate needles.

The operation of the hooks to transfer the loops held on the hooks back to the alternate needles to turn the welt, may be briefly described in connection with Figs. 12 to 15 inclusive. Fig. 12 1 shows the position of the several cooperating elements at the end of the welt knitting operation in which the welt fabric is tensioned by means of a welt rod 52 between the needles andhooks which occupy a stationary position slightly above and out of the path of the knitting elements, the needles having moved downwardly toward their knockover position and about to draw the loops of the last knitted course 011 of the nibs of the sinker and divider elements. As the needies are now moved to their knockover position,. and before the sinkers are advanced, the hooks are moved forwardly and down so that the bottom ends thereof engage between the knockover elements 54 to accurately align the hooks between 55 these elements. As the sinkers now advance, the hooks are moved rearwardly over the needles and, between the advancing sinkers, as shown in Fig. 13. The beveled edges forming the tapered rear edge 36 of thehooks, insure the correct engage: o

ment of the hooks between adjacent sinkers. It will be noted that the vertical position of the hooks is such as to insure the movement of the sinkers over the fabric loops held on the hooks 30, so that these elements can subsequently opas erate to hold down the fabric loops during the The continued rearward movement of the hooks causes these elements to be brought into engagement with the press edge 50, as best shown in Fig. 14. As the-needles now continue their inward movement during the knockover, and are moved upwardly close to the press edge, the tip portions of the needles are brought into engagement with the beveled edge 34 forming the throat'portion of the recess beon the needle shanks.

tween the cheeks 32, so that the needles durin their subsequent upward movement, as shown by the successive dotted line positions in Fig. 15, are

caused topass upwardly through the loops held on the hooks. At the same time, the hooks are .moved downwardly to disengage the cheek portions 32 from the loops which are now supported The hooks can then be i moved upwardly out of the way as the needles having the edge which will subsequently form the rear side of the shank portion ofthe hook, beveled to form a V-shaped ridgeEB. The hook portion of the implement is formed by bending a portion of this bar stock over into a position parmay be subsequently lifted over the needle beard I allel to the shank. A vertically extending slot 66 is then out along the entire length of the outer portion of the hook to form the two cheek portions 62 and 64 of the implement. The depth of the slot 6|] is gauged to leave a thin connecting wall 86 connecting the cheek members 62 and 64 along their inner edge. Finally, one of the cheek portions 64 and a' portion of thewall 66 is cut away at an angle to form a cammed surface 68 which can operate to engage a kink of yarn caught on the tip of the cheek 62 and to spread this loop over the lower portion of the cheek 64 as the hook is moved upwardly from the dotted line to the full line position illustrated for the hook 30 in Fig. 8. Applicant's hook element 56 formed in this manner is similar to the hook 30 previously described in having a V-shaped bottom surface to facilitate the downward movement of the hook between the sinkers and knockover elements, a V-shaped rear side to facilitate the positioning of the advancing sinkers between the hook elements in the position illustrated generally in Fig. 14, and a guiding surface formed by the bottom of the slot which extends downwardly to the extreme bottom of the hook element for engagement with the upper end of the rising needle for the successive dotted line positions shown in Fi 15.-

The operation of applicant's modified hook 58 to engage with and spread the yarn kink held on the needle shank, is illustrated specifically in Figs. 21 and 22, Fig. 21 showing the position of the hook 56 which corresponds to that illustrated for book 30 in Figs. 7 and 16, and Fig. 22 showing the hook 56 in a position which corresponds to the position of the hook 30 shown in Figs. 8 and 17. As will be evident from these figures, the books 56 are moved forwardly so that the shank of the needle isiburied in the recess or slot 60, and the t p portion of the cheek 62 is in a position during subsequent upward movement of the hook to engage the bar of yarn extending to the adjacent needle prior to the advance of the dividers. As

the upward movement of the hook is continued,

the yarn kink on the needle shank is engaged by the angled surface 68 causing the loop to be spread over the abbreviated cheek 64, as shown in Fig. 22, so that the yarn kink held on the book which passes downwardly inside of the recess 60 formed between the cheeks. The specific advantage of this construction of the book 56, including the cheek portions 62 and 64 connected by the cam surface 68, consists in the fact that the tip portion of the hook 56 engages only with a bar of yarn supported across two adjacent needles instead of being forced to engage also with the otherleg of the yarn kink on the needle shank which is angled sharply away from the needle shank by the action of the adjoining sinker. With this modified construction, a much simpler and more certain mode of operation of the welt hook is obtained to remove and to spread the yarn kink sunk against the needle shank. v

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments shown, and

that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A loop transfer element adapted for use with aknitting needle comprising a shank and a bifurcated hook having two parallel hookshaped cheek members extending reversely of the shank arrangedfor a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front 'side of the needle shank to extend to either side of the needle, said cheeks having inwardly bent tips arranged to extend beyond and to the backs of the needle shanks to engage with and receive a needle wale loop from the needle shank, and relatively protruding outer edges adapted to engage with and guide the needle shank laterally between the cheeks. 1

2. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a knitting needle comprising a shank and a bifurcated hook having two parallelhookshaped cheek members extending reversely of the shank arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to extend to either side of the needle, said cheeks having tips converging slightly to extend beyond and slightly to the back of the needle shank to engage and receive a needle wale loop from the needle shank.

3.,A loop transfer elementadapted for use with a knitting needle comprising a shank and a bifurcated hook having two parallel hookshapedcheek members extending reversely of the shank arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to extend to either side. l

of the needle, said cheeks having inwardly bent tips arranged to extend beyond and to the backs of the needle shanks to engage with and receivea needle wale loop from the needle shank, relasisting of two parallel hook-shaped cheek members arranged for a position of the shankpor tion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to extend to either side of the needle and having inwardly bent tips'ar- .ranged to extend beyond and to the backs of the needle shanks to engagewith and receive a,

needle wale loop from the needle shank.

5. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine having spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith, comprising a shank and a hook portion extending reversely of the shank having formed therein a recess arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess, so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook.

6. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine having spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith, comprising a shank and a hook portion extending reversely of the shank having formed therein a recess arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess, so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, said transfer element having the side portions thereof at the tip tapered downwardly to a V-shaped point to provide guiding surfaces for centering the hooks betweenthe sinker and knockover elements.

7. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine hav- 1 ing spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith, compris- 1 ing a shank and a hook'portion extending reversely of the shank having formed therein a recess arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess, so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, said transfer element having the side portions of the shank tapered to a V-shaped point on the back there: of opposite the hook to provide guiding surfaces for centering the hook between adjacent sinkers during the horizontal movement of a hook be tween adjacent sinkers.

8. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashlond knitting machine having spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith, comprising a shank and a hook portion extending reversely of the shank having formed therein a recess arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess, so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, said transfer element having the side portions thereof at the tip tapered downwardly to a V-shaped point to provide guiding surfaces for centering the hooks between the sinker and knockover elements, and the side portions of the transfer element shank tapered to a V-shaped point on the back thereof opposite the hook to provide guiding surfaces for centering a hook between adjacent sinkers during the horizontal movement of a hook between adjacent sinkers.

9. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine having spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith comprising a shank, and a hook portion extending reversely of the shank having formed in the outer face thereof a recess arranged when positioned to the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, the tip portion and the yarn engaging surfaces form- 'ing the inner face of the hook being constructed and arranged to spread and to move kink clear of the needle shank.

10. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine having spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith comprising a shank, and a hook portion extending reversely of the shank having formed in the outer face thereof a recess arranged when positioned to the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying'of the needle shank in said recess so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, the tip portion and the yarn engaging surfaces forming the inner face of the hook being constructed and arranged to spread and to move the yarnkink clear of the needle shank, and the bottom surface of said recess being located with relation to the inner yarn engaging face of the hook to engage with and guide the upper hook portion of the needle upwardly through a loop held on the hook for the transfer of the loop back to the needle.

11. A- loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine havthe yarn ing spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith comprising a shank and a hook portion extending reversely of the shank having formed in the outer face thereof a recess arranged when positioned to the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, said hook having a single tip portion forming an extension of one side wall of the recess to engage one side only of the needle kink, and a carnmed yarn engaging surface adjacent thereto forming the inner surface of the hook rendered operative by a relative upward movement of the hook to spread and to move the kink clear of the needle shank.

12. A loop transfer element adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned knitting machine having spring beard needles and sinkers and knockover elements cooperating therewith comprising a shank and a hook portion'extending reversely of the shank having formed therein a recess arranged for a position of the shank portion substantially parallel to and at the front side of the needle shank to permit the burying of the needle shank in said recess so that a yarn kink held on the needle shank is located in position to be engaged by said hook, said hook having a single tip portion forming an extension of one side wall of the recess to engage one side only of the needle kink, and a downwardly sloping yarn engaging surface connecting with the other side wall of the recess rendered operative by relative upward movement of the hook to spread and to move the yarn kink clear of the needle.

MAX c. ma. 

